DCC Dales Home Care

Updated 3 March 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave 24 hours' notice as we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 14 January 2022 and ended on 04 February 2022. We visited the location’s office/service on 18 January 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people using the service and five family members about their experience of using the service. We reviewed two medicine records and five care records. We spoke with nine members of staff including the registered manager, Domiciliary Service Organiser (DSO) and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people's care records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 3 March 2022

About the service

DCC Dales Home Care is a domiciliary care agency. It provides care to people living in their own houses and flats in the Dales area of Derbyshire. The service supports younger adults, older people, people living with dementia and people with physical disabilities living in their own homes. Most people received a short-term reablement service following a period of hospitalisation or illness. At the time of the inspection, there were 15 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

There was not always a positive culture within the service. Staff advised of concerns relating to out of hours support and access and support with training and use of the providers systems. The provider understood that staff required mandatory training, and this was made available to staff. The provider told us recruitment processes were ongoing to increase staffing.

People received safe care and support. Staff had received training on safeguarding adults and were aware of their responsibilities to protect people from avoidable harm. Risks associated with people’s individual needs had been assessed and planned for. Up to date guidance was available for staff to follow. Learning from mistakes took place to reduce the risk of recurrence.

People told us they were happy with their care and felt involved in care planning and delivery. People told us they received their calls from staff who they felt were suitably qualified. Care plans were personalised and contained person-centred information. People received support in line with national best practice guidance, in the administration of their medicines. Safe recruitment procedures were used, to support in making recruitment decisions.

People consistently gave good reports about the staff providing their care. People received kind and compassionate care and were supported to maintain their dignity, independence and privacy. People told us they were involved in decisions about the care and support they received. People received care and support that respected their individual preferences and lifestyle choices.

People’s care and support reflected their individual assessed needs. Where people received support with reablement needs, choice and independence were promoted. Information was shared with external healthcare professionals, to support people with their ongoing healthcare needs.

Roles, responsibility and accountability arrangements were made clear. Regular reviews of care plans and oversight of daily logs and medicine records were completed. A complaints procedure enabled people to raise any complaints and any received were fully investigated. Quality assurance systems and processes were used to monitor quality and safety. The registered manager was aware of their registration regulatory responsibilities.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 30 October 2020 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous name of DCC Dales and North West Derbyshire Home Care was Requires Improvement, published on 14 May 2020.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out in part, to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection under Regulation 17 (Good Governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for DCC Dales and North West Derbyshire Home Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.